Previously I worked with an organization called the Aboriginal Healing Foundation for 15 years, starting in 1998. In the early going, we were struggling to sharpen our mandate and to find out what survivors of residential schools really wanted.
We conducted a series of consultations—one-day events—across the country. There were 36 of them across the north and from coast to coast. In those 36 consultations, without exception, the number one loss that was identified and the number one need was the rejuvenation of language. That was number one. Everybody talked about it. We thought that was amazing. We thought it was going to be something health-related or to do with mental health or something like that. Everybody wanted language first.
I think you're right. I think that in some ways cultural rejuvenation is up to us. We define our culture and it's up to us to bring it back, but I think the catalyst for that is the rejuvenation of language. That's where we need support, and I think it has to be very broad-based.